SEVEN NO TRUMP

I used to play bridge. In fact, I was one of those crazed bridge players who would as often as not watch the dawn come up over a four-heart hand. The entire time I lived in Israel, bridge was probably our prime entertainment. There were people to whom you couldn’t talk usually, but if they played bridge, somehow, you could fit them into your social life. Mostly, you talked about bridge.

Bidding. Contracts. Great games you remembered. Hilarious games. Weird games. Bridge players have their own sense of humor that has nothing to do with anything else.

When Garry and I became a serious thing, I was appalled to discover I’d finally met a man who really — no kidding — didn’t know a diamond from a club. He had never played poker. How do you make it through basic training in the Marines without learning to play poker? At first, I hoped I might convince him to give it a try, but it was soon obvious it wouldn’t happen. Garry doesn’t play games unless they involve movie or sports trivia.

I tried playing bridge online — and in those early online days, you had to pay to play. I played bridge during lunch hour at work. But bridge requires a regular partner. One lone bridge player is like a car with three wheels. It doesn’t roll.

So, as time moved on, I gave up. I have since met other reformed bridge players and we talk, yearn, and dream of the old days. With pretzels and cards. Icy cokes and occasionally, some beer nuts.

There are usually places that give lessons and that is really the best way to learn. We learned, as kids, from one of the mothers on the block and we grew up cheating a lot. I had to relearn everything as a grown up.

If I thought there was ANY chance of teaching Garry to play, I would be taking lessons too. Because bridge is surprisingly fulfilling. It’s a fascinating game and definitely, my all time favorite from childhood to now. Nothing is more fun … and you get to do it sitting down, too.

I tried to learn, but it is just beyond me. I do, however, play a vicious game of scrabble or cribbage. As long as I don’t have to figure out bidding or trumps or who does what and where with the cards.

I married a man, not unlike Garry, who wasn’t sure what cards were even FOR. He’s still not a game player, so I go hungry (game wise) these days. I’ve tried online scrabble, but there is too much cheating involved, which takes the fun out of it.

My mother’s family were words and cards, and there was always a board game available, or a deck of cards. I kinda miss that now.

I do too … especially no one with whom to play scrabble. Not a world champion, I was pretty good. I was a mediocre bridge player, but i enjoyed it a lot. Bridge is one of those games where you need to find the right people to play with. If you’re not a “killer,” then you need to find people who play for fun, not assassins. Garry learned to play Monopoly because his granddaughter beat him up over it, but the only game he’ll play voluntarily is Trivial Pursuits, preferably the one that specializes in movies.

Lynn’s entire family are game players. Whenever we visit, they end up playing games. If possible, I’ll just sit and watch. My sister ruined game playing for me. She always had to win, no matter the means, and would taunt and tease. Lynn is always trying to get me to play cards with her but I just won’t do it!

Garry never learned, so you can’t get him to play. He looks blank. I think he did it on purpose so no one could force him to play. My brother was like your sister. Eventually, I wouldn’t play with him. Then he argued with me about NOT playing.

my three girlfriends and I used to spend endless hours at Monopoly when we were 9 and 10. We took it very seriously, and trusted no one. When we had to leave the game for some reason, our money went with us. =)
Sometimes it would get a bit heated. My mother would come in the room and look at the four of us, red faced, sobbing, and say, “what is going ON here?” “nothing” we’d say, and go back to the game.

My dad taught me cribbage when I was about 12 and ‘let me win’ until the night he realized that not only could I shuffle better than he could, I was winning on my own. THEN it got interesting.

Cribbage is fun and simple. The problem with bridge is that it’s difficult to play well and different people play different ways … at least as far as bidding goes. I don’t know if I have the brain for it anymore. As for Monopoly, I think we spend YEARS playing it on Mary’s front porch. Everybody cheated.